A former manager at Air China has been charged with smuggling packages in and out of the U.S. for Chinese military officials based in NY.
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Ying Lin, 46, who worked as a station chief for an unspecified global carrier at Newark Liberty worldwide Airport, smuggled the packages on flights to China in exchange for discounted liquor purchased from diplomatic duty-free shops and other benefits, according to a statement Wednesday from the USA attorney in Brooklyn.
The indictment did not name the Chinese national, but his description matches that of Qin Fei of Beijing, who the Federal Bureau of Investigation has suspected may be involved with Chinese foreign intelligence, according to other court records. Her lawyer, who has previously identified Lin as a USA citizen who has lived here for 23 years, did not return a call for comment. An Air China spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.
As previously reported by The Wall Street Journal, Lin has worked as an associate of a suspected Chinese intelligence agent linked to Macau real estate and casino mogul Ng Lap Seng, who has been charged in a separate case with bribing a now-deceased United Nations diplomat.
Lin, a resident of the city’s Queens borough, was previously arrested in August 2015 and charged for structuring financial transactions. Prosecutors also claim that Lin helped a Chinese national believed to be the target of a federal inquiry escape back home aboard an air carrier flight from JFK Airport. And in January, a Chinese man pleaded guilty to stealing valuable seeds from fields in Iowa with the aim of transporting them to China.
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In return, Ms Lin received various benefits including discounted liquor purchased from diplomatic duty-free and tax-exempt purchases of electronic devices from Apple Inc retail outlets, the indictment said. The new indictment has her charged with five criminal counts, including smuggling and obstruction of justice.
